The present invention relates to carriers for beverage containers, and is particularly concerned with their use in vehicles which are moving, although their use in other environments is equally possible.
Many drivers, such a truck drivers who may need to drive their trucks for long periods of time in uncomfortably hot conditions, would like to be able to take occasional sips of drink directly from a can, for example, without having the problem of dealing with the can between sips.
If the can is put on the dashboard or the floor it will topple over when the truck corners or brakes sharply. If the can is carried in one hand by the driver, there is the danger that the driver may not be able to control the truck adequately. If the can is jammed into some opening in the cab, it may damage the cab yet still topple over.
Similar problems are met in any situation where a person has a beverage container but there is no convenient and safe location for receiving the beverage container between sips. For example, a person in a wheelchair may need both hands free to control the wheelchair, a coach passenger may need both hands free to read a magazine, a cyclist may need both hands free to steer the bicycle, and a person on a yacht may need both hands free to control the sails.
The beverage container need not necessarily be a can, such as the conventional aluminium-bodied rip-top can for soft drinks, but could be a wine glass, goblet, beaker or mug formed of any conventional material.